{"id":350,"date":"2023-09-25T19:04:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-25T19:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-721367-3912722.cloudwaysapps.com\/?page_id=350"},"modified":"2024-04-04T16:18:51","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T16:18:51","slug":"arsenault-lumber","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cbdcambitions.ca\/arsenault-lumber\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenault\u00a0Lumber"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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PROFILE | Prince Edward Island<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Business<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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PEI sisters restore the family lumber business<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photography by Lyndsay Doyle\u00a0<\/strong>
Article by Adam Hodnett\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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They grew up sliding down the wood chip piles at the family-owned sawmill in the green one-storey building next door, on \u201cArsenault Mill Road.\u201d Now Janelle, and her twin sister Janine, own the business. With a \u201clittle bit of hydraulic oil,\u201d and a loan from CBDC Central PEI, the Arsenault sisters were able to bring the family back into the sawmill business after a 14-year hiatus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cArsenault Family Lumber\u201d was started by the Arsenault sisters in May 2021. The family business, \u201cArsenault Sawmill Ltd.,\u201d got out of the sawmill side of the lumber industry in 2007.\u00a0 Their grandfather, Pepe Franky Arsenault, started the business in 1948, after he got back from the Second World War. Their father, Leonce, had been running it for as long as Janelle can remember.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The business was always a part of their lives, responsible for detours on family vacations so they could check on a piece of equipment, or other long drives with their father.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cHe\u2019d bring us to the mills, and talk to us,\u201d Janelle said. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t something that I loved or enjoyed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

It wasn\u2019t until Janelle was directly involved in the industry that an interest truly took hold. No one cares about a business quite like the owner.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cNow I\u2019m really interested in it,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing hands on really did it for me.\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

After their mom passed away, Janelle and Janine started helping with some aspects of the family business, which is focused more on logging and other facets of the lumber industry. Inevitably, supper conversations around the long wooden table surrounded by windows, with old logs piled directly outside, would turn to the news in the industry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

When the price of building materials famously skyrocketed, a sawmill once again looked like a pretty attractive business.\u00a0<\/p>

The building across from where they grew up was still there. The equipment was mostly still there. A lot of the workers, including the previous saw operator and foreman were still around and interested in coming back. Having a dedicated and knowledgeable workforce ready to go is a rare and extremely valuable asset.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cWe call them our bosses,\u201d Janelle said. \u201cThey know more than I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

A generator did need to be fixed. And most importantly \u2014 a sawmill can\u2019t operate without logs to cut.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cWe needed funds, obviously,\u201d Janelle said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

Janine started on a business plan, and then their accountant recommended contacting the CBDC.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cThey were amazing,\u201d Janelle said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

The CBDC listened to their ideas, helped refine the business plan, and then presented the plan on behalf of the sisters to get approval for the loan. It didn\u2019t take long after that to receive the funds, and officially be in business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

They\u2019ve been off to a good start. Sourcing their lumber directly from Prince Edward Island and establishing a customer base right on the island as well. They now pride themselves on personalized service \u2014 hand loading all the orders and being able to cut lumber to any dimension a customer may want. The long hours are starting to pay off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cYou learn as you go,\u201d Janelle said. \u201cThe first year I worked, I probably put in 80-90 hours a week, but then you learn that you can\u2019t do that. You can do the same amount of work in a 50-hour work week, and you get the same results.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

In a lot of ways, it turns out the sisters absorbed more knowledge from the two previous generations than they realized while they were growing up.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cMy dad always said, the most important thing … on a Friday, you need to pay your men first, no matter what. Then it\u2019s fuel!\u201d Janelle said.\u00a0 \u201cBut it\u2019s true. They\u2019re the most important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cMy dad always said, the most important thing ... on a Friday, you need to pay your men first, no matter what ...\u201d\u00a0<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Janelle Arsenault\u00a0
Arsenault Family Lumber\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u201cArsenault\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"\"<\/figure>

Ambitions is a publication of the Atlantic Association of CBDCs intended to promote and celebrate small business and entrepreneurial success in the communities we serve.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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